‘Brexit means there can be no parity between Britishness and Irishness in the United Kingdom’s lawful territory’ – By Jamie Bryson

Bertie Ahern the former Irish Prime Minister summed up much of the Nationalist petulance around Brexit in a piece carried in Sunday’s Guardian newspaper.

Whilst making no reference to the potential for violent conflict, Mr Ahern did however make reference to the Anglo-Irish Agreement and the Unionist civil unrest associated with same.

Many others have warned of the potential for a return to the ‘past’ should the democratic wishes of the people of the United Kingdom be fully implemented in Northern Ireland.

Flowing from these ‘warnings’ of going back to the last should be a simple question; who would take us back?

Let us hear from those issuing the warnings-who would take us back and why?

Nationalists want to ride on the Trojan horse of the Belfast Agreement all the way to unification. It is their latest phase of ‘struggle’.

When that Trojan Horse is de-railed, and the ‘harmonisation’ strategy impaled on an EU land border, then will some of the ‘peacemakers’ become the war-mongers?

As an anti-agreement Unionist I welcome Brexit. It drives a horse and cart through the attempts to use various staging posts of all-Ireland harmonisation as a road-map to unification. It tears up the Belfast Agreement, and that is no bad thing for Unionism or democrats in general.

Following Brexit, which will happen despite the efforts of various fifth columnists tying to block it, it will be impossible for those who claim to be Irish citizens living in Northern Ireland to have the same rights as Irish citizens who live in the Republic of Ireland. An EU land border will separate those in the United Kingdom from those in other foreign EU jurisdictions.

Brexit means there can be no parity between Britishness and Irishness in the United Kingdom’s lawful territory.

Every person is entitled to equality, and as such to hold political views and express their aspirations. There is, however, no obligation on the state to equally recognise these aspirations and grant them equal status. It is the individual that is entitled to equality, not the ideals they espouse.

As such the Belfast Agreement ‘process’ – the only trajectory of which was towards Irish unification – is fatally undermined.

Irish Nationalism is trapped in a sovereign and Independent United Kingdom.

The UK/RoI border for Nationalists was merely symbolic so long as we were all part of the greater EU harmonisation project. It now takes on much greater significance.

Let us now hear the ‘peacemakers’ state unequivocally their support for democracy and the rule of law.

The Belfast Agreement came about because the IRA demanded the perversion of democracy – in the form of mandatory coalition – in return for a halt to their campaign of terrorism.

The British Government, and those manipulated by the emotional blackmail and propaganda deployed by the ‘Yes’ campaign in 1998, capitulated to the threats of a defeated republican terrorist organisation.

Now that the latest phase of ‘struggle’- namely the harmonisation strategy within the framework of a perverted system masquerading as democracy – has failed, once again democracy is threatened with a subtle reminder of the bad old days.

The threats of going back to the ‘bad old days’ can be hollowed out by simply asking ‘who would take us back?’

The United Kingdom should learn from the mistakes of 1998. Rather than appeasing those seeking to frustrate democracy; they should be faced down and politically defeated.

“Nationalists want to ride on the Trojan Horse of the Belfast Agreement”
– if one rode on Trojan Horses, it wouldn’t exactly work… that’s not a Trojan Horse… that’s just a horse.

“When that Trojan Horse is de-railed…”
– the Trojan Horse didn’t ride on rails… that’s just a train.

And the Belfast Agreement is pretty clear what’s within it… it’s not like there’s words hidden inside the words… it says things fairly explicitly. So that’s not a Trojan Horse either.

And while we’re at it…

“It drives a horse and cart through the attempts to use various staging posts of …”
– what is it with this author and misplaced Horse metaphors?
A staging post was a location where horse and carts, carriages, and other vehicles and travellers would stop en route to a destination. So a staging post is precisely where one would drive a horse and cart through… it’s literally what they were invented for.

Beat me to it Kris! The tortuous mixed metaphors do little to hide the emptiness of Mr Bryson’s arguments. Maybe it’s time to drive a Trojan horse and cart through the foolishness of an argument that relies on never acknowledging the truth of your neighbours’ concerns…sorry, I’m at a staging post where I don’t know which laboured metaphor will derail the dangerous foolishness of pretending that a shared language will unhorse the identity of Irish, Scots and Ulster Scots in a shared polity.

I take it from Jamie’s article that he, and all other right thinking unionists, would abide by the result of a UK-wide referendum on Irish unity, if that vote advocated a united Ireland and the ending of British sovereignty in Northern Ireland? That’s clearly the logic of what he’s saying.

“It tears up the Belfast Agreement, and that is no bad thing for Unionism or democrats in general.”

Baffled by this line above all else.
Stating that tearing up the Belfast agreement is not a bad thing for democrats seems like an bizarre statement; considering that the Belfast agreement was democratically approved by voters both north and south of the border.
Indeed it could be argued the Belfast agreement is enshrined in the values democrats value dearly. Therefore I can only assume the author has either mistakenly phrased this sentence or fundamentally misunderstands the term democrats.
I know which of the above options I believe.